9781422283509

The Story of Africa 1 Exploring Africa A frican history is fascinating. We have all heard about the great Pharaohs of Egypt, with their magnificent tombs and burial ceremonies. But how many of us know about the ancient empires of West Africa? The first of these great kingdoms, Ghana, was powerful from 300 ce for about a thousand years (see page 8). Ghana was so rich that the dogs in the king’s palace wore collars made out of gold. Arab Scholars In the tenth century, Arab scholars began to write about the great wealth of the African kingdoms. Some of them, such as Ibn Battuta (see pages 14-15), actually traveled around the continent. Others just gathered stories from those who had been to Africa. As more books about Africa appeared, the fame of the kingdoms spread and Europeans began to visit the continent. First came the Portuguese in the 1400s. Then other Europeans such as the French, Dutch and British followed. They built forts along the coast and traded with the Africans. But few Europeans actually traveled into the heart of the country and because they knew so little about Africa they called it the Dark Continent. Exploring This Book This book is divided into four sections. The first section deals with the history of Africa to the 1400s, and the second section takes the history up to the 1800s. Within each time period, we deal with different regions of Africa separately. The last two sections deal with European explorers who visited Africa from the late 1700s onwards and Africa as it is today. This book is the story of Africa and her visitors.

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